Midnapore East district or Purba Medinipur district is one of the districts of the state of West Bengal, India. It was formed on January 1, 2002 after the Partition of Midnapore into Purba Medinipur and Paschim Medinipur. During formation, the subdivisions of Tamluk, Contai, and Haldia of erstwhile Medinipur district were placed in the Purba Medinipur with district headquarters at Tamluk.